The iPhone 6 Plus Mini-Review: Apple's First Phablet
by Joshua Ho on September 30, 2014 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Apple
- Mobile
- iOS
- iPhone 6 Plus
While we’ve also written about the iPhone 6, the iPhone 6 Plus needs its own review in order to really understand the various features of the device that would otherwise be buried in the context of the iPhone 6. Without question, this device represents a significant departure from the way Apple has competed in the smartphone space. Until now, Apple hasn't competed in the phablet space and has thus avoided competing with Galaxy Note line that has been established as the dominant phablet for the past 3-4 generations. As a result, Apple occupies a fast-follower position at best.
This brings us to the iPhone 6 Plus, which really is an extension of the iPhone 6. Both phones share the same SoC, NAND configurations, front and rear camera sensors, LED flash module, industrial/material design, TouchID home button, earpiece and speaker configuration, WiFi/BT chipset, modem, and button layout. At this point, I’m going to stop listing similarities because the iPhone 6 Plus is interesting for its differences. Unlike similarities, the differences are simple. The iPhone 6 Plus is bigger, the display has higher pixel density, the camera has optical image stabilization, and iOS 8 has new app designs to take advantage of the larger screen. The iPhone 6 Plus is also more expensive, with the 16GB version starting at the same price as the 64GB version of the iPhone 6.
While I’ve already discussed the design of the iPhone 6, it’s important to see whether the same design translates to the iPhone 6 Plus. To this end, the iPhone 6 Plus does well. While the angular design of the iPhone 5 line would have looked and felt enormous in the hand, the shape is quite similar to the iPad line and is similarly comfortable in the hand, although the rounded edge really differentiates it, as does the control scheme. The only real issue here is that the top bezel on the front becomes surprisingly large, and this seems to contribute to a sense that the phone is top-heavy even though the phone is evenly balanced.
Apple iPhone 5s | Apple iPhone 6 | Apple iPhone 6 Plus | |
SoC | Apple A7 | Apple A8 | Apple A8 |
Display | 4-inch 1136 x 640 LCD | 4.7-inch 1334 x 750 LCD | 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LCD |
WiFi | 2.4/5GHz 802.11a/b/g/n, BT 4.0 | 2.4/5GHz 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, single stream, BT 4.0, NFC | |
Storage | 16GB/32GB/64GB | 16GB/64GB/128GB | 16GB/64GB/128GB |
I/O | Lightning connector, 3.5mm headset | ||
Size / Mass |
123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm, 112 grams |
138.1 x 67 x 6.9 mm, 129 grams |
158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 mm, 172 grams |
Camera |
8MP iSight with 1.5µm pixels Rear Facing + True Tone Flash 1.2MP f/2.4 Front Facing |
8MP iSight with 1.5µm pixels Rear Facing + True Tone Flash 1.2MP f/2.2 Front Facing |
8MP iSight with 1.5µm pixels Rear Facing + True Tone Flash + OIS 1.2MP f/2.2 Front Facing |
Price |
$99 (16GB), $149 (32GB) on 2 year contract |
$199 (16GB), $299 (64GB), $399 (128GB) on 2 year contract |
$299 (16GB), $399 (64GB), $499 (128GB) on 2 year contract |
Overall, even though the iPhone 6 Plus is noticeably taller than the Galaxy Note 3 both feel similar in size. The iPhone 6 Plus is on the thinner side which makes a significant impression in the hand. At any rate, it’s physically impossible for me to use this device with one hand for most situations. It’s definitely a tablet in this sense, but in a much more compact and pocketable form factor.
"Bendgate"
Of course, drawing the comparison between the iPhone 6 Plus and Galaxy Note 3 inevitably raises the question of “bendgate”, which draws interesting parallels with “scuffgate” from the iPhone 5 generation. Unfortunately, I can’t destroy multiple review units in order to thoroughly investigate this issue. However, we can look at Consumer Reports’ data and come to a few conclusions about this problem. The first is that in the case of the iPhone 6 Plus, there appears to be an area near the bottom of the volume buttons that is a weak point as we see a clear failure of the casing in this area.
However, it seems that there is a significant amount of force needed in the first place in order to cause permanent deformation. Otherwise, everything that we’ve seen is primarily the result of fundamental differences between the two materials. It’s clear that in the case of the Galaxy Note 3 that a great deal of the structural rigidity is tied to the display itself, so the case doesn’t quite provide much in the way of protection as the polymer used is clearly in the elastic region all the way to failure. LG seems to have a different design though, as their polymer material has a clear case of brittle failure at the limit, which saved the display from shattering.
It's certainly possible to bend the iPhone 6 Plus (or really any phone or tablet), but the real issue here that hasn’t been addressed is the level of force needed to cause a certain level of elastic or plastic deformation in the material. This matters far more when discussing drop protection as the level of force in such a scenario is relatively small but applied over an extremely short period of time. There’s also no mention of force per unit area in any of these figures, so we can’t really have a serious discussion about this issue without the necessary data.
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ayejay_nz - Wednesday, October 1, 2014 - link
The 6 Plus review is just an extension of the very detailed 6 review.Spoelie - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
the improved pixel density is [definitely] visible. There are [definitely] performance trade-offs in GPU-based benchmarks, but otherwise Apple has managed to make this bump in resolution compromise-free. I [definitely] notice the improved resolution, /but this is a mostly subjective area that requires personal experience to judge whether the higher resolution has value./Overall, the iPhone 6 Plus is [definitely] a great phone
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Definitely!
anekin007 - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
Not sure how you're getting just over 3 hours. My 6+ is taking 4 hours to charge and other people in other forums are stating the same. With a 2.4a charger Im getting 2 hours and 40 mins. Hows the iPhone 6 charging faster than the 5s when the 6 is 1900man and 5s is 1500?kirito - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
excellent review. I guess many are still in shock.Duckk - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
Kudos for the Dynames Gundam in the camera tests.techcrazy - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
Why you guys not doing "Cellular talk time test" like you guys did with previous smartphone? You guys took your time with the review so why didn't you ?yofa42 - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
gosh, i sure hope there's no conflict of interest between new apple employee anand, and the website that bears his name.don't let them off easy on the bendgate. we want a see a real-world-applicable comparative (with note 3) strength test in bending moments throughout the length of the device.
there should be no entity too powerful and influential to call out. permanent deformation in real-world situations is a legitimate concern.
hlovatt - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
Great in depth review, miles better than any others I have read with real in-depth testing. Very glad to see Anand's leaving has not affected quality one little bit.Still the best out there - thanks.
Parhel - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
I've spent a bit of time with one of these, courtesy of a coworker, and it's absolutely gorgeous. I can't argue with that. I just can't imagine slipping this in my pocket to listen to music while I mow the lawn, to pick one example. It's just too big to be a daily driver. I guess I'll be sticking with my iPhone 5 for the foreseeable future.joe_dude - Tuesday, September 30, 2014 - link
Joshua, you guys really need to investigate bendgate before recommending it. Is it a real issue?? The CR test is the same one used by Apple that failed to find the problem. The Unbox Therapy video showed the 6+ was bent with minimal force at the weak spot. Heck, 10 year old kids could bend it. Anand is gone, but we still come here for a thorough review.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ3Ds6uf0Yg